* * *
Savannah woke up on Saturday morning to the sound of the birds chirping. She slept extremely well and had the kind of dreams you didn’t want to wake from. For her, that was being with Hiroshi. Kissing him, listening to him talk about his cars, or just spending any form of time with him. She was ecstatic about their date tonight.
Before she did anything today she wanted to talk to Jake about Hiroshi. It was perhaps unnecessary, but she wanted to tell him, or rather ask him how he felt about her going out with him. She’d never want to upset him in any way.
Since he’d gone for an early morning run she met him at ten at the Big Breakfast. It was right in the center of town and had come to be one of her favorite diners. Jake had brought her here a couple of times.
The waitress came over with their order and placed one hell of a sized tower of pancakes covered in syrup in front of him. She then set a much smaller plate containing rye bread toast in front of Savannah, prompting a perplexed expression from Jake.
Jake looked from her to the toast questioningly. “What’s that? It looks like Grandma’s face scrub.”
“It’s rye bread toast,” she answered in a matter-of-factly tone.
“Whose bread?” He shook his head at her not quite understanding.
“Not who, Jake, what. Rye is a grain that’s good for you.” And as Sakiko had kindly shared, it wouldn’t make you look like a bloated cow if you had a date later that day. She had her heart set on wearing the beautiful red dress she bought in a quirky boutique weeks ago, but she’d gained a pound.
She blamed it on that oh-so-delicious-but=highly-calorific triple chocolate, Oreo cookie shake yesterday, and the food she’d been consuming in her travels.
“I’m just trying to eat a little healthier.” Savannah played with her thumbs under the table.
“Oh you poor, poor girl. You simply must have a pancake.” Jake was doing his impression of Honest John from Pinocchio. “There’s spots on your face which indicate you may die of starvation.”
She really hoped not. She didn’t want any form of spots today.
“Jake, you’re so silly. I’m fine.” She was trying her best to act normal, but admittedly normal for her would have been pancakes. Definitely not toasted rye bread, and who better to know that than Jake.
Savannah took a sip of her peppermint tea from the double-handled mug as The Beach Boys started to sing Surfin’ U.S.A. from the old-style jukebox.
She loved this place. It was decorated within every inch to represent nineteen sixties America, and like everything else the Japanese did, they did it well. She could easily have been fooled into thinking that she was in that time period, and that The Beach Boys really were here.
She looked at Jake as he tucked into his pancakes.
When was the right time to tell him? It didn’t seem right just to jump into it. They just got here.
“You know, I always imagined us doing this. I knew you’d love this place and here we are again. It’s great isn’t it?” Jake’s eyes lit up.
“Absolutely.”
He cut off a huge chunk of the pancakes, dipped it in the syrup that had run down onto the plate, then devoured it. It looked like it tasted amazing from the satisfied expression on his face.
“So, what’s up?” He focused on her and rested back against the seat.
“Up? Nothing, per se, is up.”
“Per se?” He chuckled lightly. “Savannah, you look like that time when you accidentally washed my Harrison Ford signed Star Wars collection card, but not as bad as when you gave my dog a haircut. So I’m guessing that whatever it is you’re about to tell me must be pretty important.” He looked at her askance. “So, what is it?” he prodded.
There was no point denying that she had something to tell him because it would defeat the purpose of being here.
“I wanted to tell you, um…that…” She paused. “Well, it’s a funny story really, or not that funny. I mean just the way it all happened.”
“Oh for heaven’s sake, girl, a person could literally die from suspense with you. What is it?” He wiggled his fork at her.
“Hiroshi asked me out on a date, and I said yes.” She thought she’d say it fast. Like waxing, quick and done before you could think about it.
Jake seemed to contemplate her revelation, his fork lingering mid-air.
“I know he’s your boss, and it may seem like I crossed some sort of line, which I didn’t mean to. It just happened,” she thought she would add.
Jake continued to look at her, and suddenly just burst out laughing. “You are so funny.”
“This isn’t a joke. I’m not joking, Jake. I’m serious. I’m going out with him tonight.”
“Savannah, Hiroshi’s my best friend, don’t you think he would have mentioned that he’s dating my sister?”
She watched him. That hadn’t crossed her mind. “Oh, right. Are you okay with me going out with him?” That was the important question.
“Of course I am. Why on Earth wouldn’t I be?”
“Really? Thank you.” She sighed with relief and rested her hands on the table. “I wanted to tell you myself. It felt right to tell you, from me.”
He smiled at her. “Okay, I respect that, and feel respected by that.” He nodded with approval. “So, he’ll definitely be a lot more interesting than the lame guys you’re used to.”
She didn’t bother to dispute that point. She just laughed and said, “Yeah.”
He chuckled. “Have you told Mom? I’m sure she’d like to hear.”
She shook her head quickly. “No, I’m not going to tell her.”
Her mother would not have liked to hear anything of the sort. The first thing she’d think was that Savannah was going to somehow do something to mess things up for Jake. She would be the one to point out that Hiroshi was Jake’s boss and Savannah should keep her distance.
“You have to tell her if you guys get serious.”
Serious. Wow. The thought of being serious with Hiroshi made her head swell and her heart beat faster.
“She’ll think it’s a bad idea either way.”
“You’re dating a billionaire; how can she think that’s bad?” Jake raised his eyebrows.
“I don’t think of him like that.” She hadn’t since the first time she met him. Sure she was thoroughly impressed with all that the family had. Their home, his cars, all the clothes, and everything Yumi and Sakiko had. But she didn’t think of them as wealthy people. “I just see him as him.”
Jake smiled at that comment. “That’s really sweet, and a quality most people don’t have. Savannah, I’m really happy, and I think Mom would be happy, too.”
“Jake, she thinks I’m a screw up.” He knew this.
“No, she doesn’t. She just thinks she knows what’s best for you and worries that you’ll make mistakes she can’t fix. What she doesn’t realize is that you have to live your life the way you want and you’re not some idiot-brained person. You know what you’re doing.”
“Thanks. I’m so glad I have you. I’ve wanted Mom and Dad to accept journalism for so long that it’s left me feeling a little bitter. I’m not super talented like you, and I’ve tried so hard to find ways of doing things to make them proud. But they’re not. It’s okay though.”
Jake sighed. “You worry too much. You guys need to talk more. Our parents may not say it, but I know they’re proud of you. Talking more starts with something simple like this date. Tell her when you come back later, or something.”
She thought she might take the or something route. For now, the person she wanted most to be happy about everything knew, and that was one less anxiety for her. Now on to the date.
* * *
Hiroshi narrowed his eyes at her and leaned forward onto the edge of the dinner table. “Savannah, Labyrinth wasn’t a horror film.”
She pulled her brows together and smirked. “I have a hard time believing that.”
“Are we even talking about the same film? David Bowie,
Goblin King, goblins.” He shuffled his hands.
“Yes,” she nodded firmly. “The same one. All scary. David Bowie and those dreadful creatures.”
He burst out laughing. “It was a kids’ film.”
She shook her head. “No child should watch that. I couldn’t even finish it. When that little bug-like creature came on that was it for me.”
“Oh my gosh.” He shook his head and touched his hand to his cheek. “Savannah that wasn’t even half way through, and that thing was cute.”
She always got this reaction from everyone when she talked about her low scare-level threshold. “My horror worries are kind of lame, right?”
“I don’t have the heart to say yes.”
They both started laughing. This is how they’d been for the last hour as they sat in a private room in Zezankyo, devouring one of the finest meals Savannah had ever had in her life.
For dinner they’d had an assortment of food. Hiroshi was insistent on her trying different things he knew she would like. They’d had a seafood platter of lobster and succulent fantail ebi katsu shrimp cooked like it was made for God himself. They’d had the best tempura in the world, yakiniku and sukiyaki.
Everything was perfect, including the restaurant itself. She really appreciated that Hiroshi had brought her here. It was hidden away in the residential backstreets, east of the Sumida river. It was also very traditional in its cuisine and configuration, with some parts having shōji and beautiful fusama illustrating the native blossoms and landscape. Definitely her kind of place.
Savannah smiled to herself as she speared a shrimp with her fork and dipped it in the little bowl of chili and lime sauce it was served with. “We should talk about you again.” Because she would probably put him off if she continued talking about the films that scared her.
“No way, talking about you is by far more entertaining.”
She smirked. “So you can laugh at me.”
“Yeah.” A smile inched across his face revealing his dimples as he reached across the table and took her hand into his, caressing the inside of her palms with his fingers.
“We haven’t spoken about cars yet.”
“Because I don’t want to bore you.”
She gazed at him leaning her head to the side, allowing her hair to spill over her shoulders and down to her elbows. “I love hearing you talk about racing and cars.”
He continued to stroke her hand. “Think you might be the only one.”
She smiled at him. “I think it’s interesting. I don’t know anyone who races cars. I used to know someone who raced goats, but it’s not the same thing.”
At that he laughed. She was glad she was able to make him laugh, and that this was turning out to be a great date.
“Goats?” He couldn’t stop laughing.
“Uh-huh. It was a friend I had back in high school. He swore he could control them, too, and they listened to him.” She giggled.
“And I thought my friends were strange.” He chuckled, leaning back in his chair.
“Sakiko told me you once jumped a car across a lake.”
He grimaced at that and brought his hand to his head. “I used to do some crazy things.”
“Were you scared?”
“No.” He looked slightly abashed. “Not one little bit.”
“How big was the lake?”
“Lake-size, big.”
She giggled bringing the shrimp up to her mouth to nibble on the crispiest side. How many of these things had she had tonight? Thank goodness she was still able to carry off the dress with the pound she’d gained. Turned out the dress looked fine on her. Hiroshi seemed to like it. She’d caught him looking at her a few times in the car on their way here.
“What made you do it?” She was interested to know.
“It was a dare. I used to be a real stickler for dares.”
“And it never crossed your mind that you could crash?”
“I’ve crashed loads of times, Savannah.” He said that like it was nothing. “I knew the car was going to be a complete write off when I landed on the other side. That was almost why I did it.”
She simply stared at him. Crashing was the thing she worried about most just driving around normally, let alone in a race. Not that she would ever be in a car race.
“Did you ever compete in any big championships?”
He shook his head. “No. I also had a thing about rules. I hated rules and thought they held me back.”
“But it sounded like you were good.”
“I was the best.” There was a hint of something in his voice that pulled at her attention. After her talk with Sakiko, Savannah assumed that Hiroshi must have stopped racing because he wanted to focus on running the company. But something in his voice hinted that there was more to it than that.
“Your face lights up when you talk about racing.”
A small smile lifted his face, but then it slowly receded as he seemed to think about his reply. “It was all I lived for at one point, but…things change sometimes. They have to if you want to change.” Something that looked like guilt flickered in his warm brown eyes. “I was a different person when I used to race,” he stated, bringing his hand back down to be near hers. “You wouldn’t have liked that guy.”
She doubted that. “I’m sure I would.”
He shook his head. “No.” He ran his finger briefly across her hand. “Trust me. You wouldn’t. I was very selfish, obsessive, arrogant, and I didn’t care about anything. And I should probably stop now if I don’t want to ruin my chances of a second date with you.”
“Second date?” That was her thinking out loud and reveling in the dream of a second date with him. But it probably came out different, like a question, as if she wouldn’t consider going out with him again.
“Do…I get one?” To her surprise he looked worried.
“Of course,” she said a little too quickly. He smiled at that. “I’m sorry I… Just don’t mind me.” She waved her hand dismissively at herself. That was her nerves again, and the fact that she’d never met anyone she was more drawn to.
His gaze locked with hers for a few seconds and she found herself thinking about him leaving tomorrow. She knew he had to leave, and his job made him busy all the time, but it still saddened her.
They’d seen each other every day for the last four days and spent a significant amount of time together. She was getting used to seeing him.
What would it be like when he left? And his flight was really early. In truth, he should probably be home now preparing for his trip, instead of being out with her.
“When do I get to see you again?” she asked.
He’d said he’d be at the fundraiser, but from what Sakiko had told her it was one of those important events that were supposed to be a party but was more businesslike.
“How about we meet at the fundraiser, hang around for ten minutes and then make a quick exit?” He gave her that cheeky smile again.
She laughed at the remark. “Ten minutes?”
“Yes, that’s all we’ll need there. I’m sure we’ll have more fun together.”
She knew they would. The look he gave her sent sparks across her nerves and curled her toes. Savannah had also never met anyone who could heighten her sexual awareness with just one look, and just his very presence.
Their chairs were already close, but he moved closer and reached out to touch her chin lightly, running his fingers slowly across her jawline. But she could swear she felt the touch all over her body.
“I want to show you something.” A gentle softness flowed within his silky voice, his eyes focusing steadily on her.
“What is it?” she asked excitedly, smoothing her hand over his.
“One last thing I want to do with you,” he smiled. “Don’t worry. It’s on the grounds of the manor. I know it’s past your bed time.”
She smacked his hand playfully and smirked at him. “It’s not. It’s you who should be worried about time. Your flight’s at like five am.
”
“The only time I’m thinking about is now.” There was a touch of sadness in his eyes as he held her gaze. “I won’t see you for a week, so I want to spend every second I can with you.”
She smiled against the soft kiss he placed on her lips, and kissed him back with the same sweetness he gave her.
Chapter 15
It was just after eleven when they got back to the manor.
Hiroshi held Savannah’s hand as they walked across the soft grass on the freshly cut lawn. Only the lights from around the manor and the silver moon lit their way against the darkness of the night.
The atmosphere had a stillness about it that added to the dreamlike fantasy of him.
He took her to the edge of the lake, at the furthest part of the grounds where it branched out into the woods.
When Mr. Fujita had shown her around, she’d decided to call this area the enchanted forest because of how the trees looked. The majority of the grounds were covered with Japanese Wisteria and Cherry Blossom, but this section had an ancient feel to it, created by the thicket of Japanese beech which grew dense and high, spreading closely across into a huge dome-shaped crown. The bark was smooth and thin, but the exposed roots were thick and heavy, wrapping around each other in some places.
During the day it looked like one of those illustrations you’d see in a fairytale book, like Red Riding Hood, but at night it tended to look a little creepy. The kind of creepy that made you wonder what could be lurking around in those woods. Instinctively she moved closer to Hiroshi, holding on to his arm.
“Don’t worry, I won’t let the Goblin King get you,” he teased, chuckling lightly. She would have told him off, but her annoyance eased away when he slipped his arm around her and pulled her towards to him.
“I’ll hold you to that.” With pure content she snuggled against him.
They walked a little further to where she called the secret garden. It had been designed to give the impression that the wooden door on the wall was an exit. She’d thought exactly that when she first saw it, but was quickly proven wrong when Mr. Fujita took her inside and revealed another garden.
I Only Have Eyes For You Page 19